Level 3 Announces Planned Executive Management Team Following tw telecom Acquisition

- New Leadership Team to Be in Effect after Transaction Close

BROOMFIELD, Colorado, July 22, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Level 3 Communications, Inc. (NYSE: LVLT) today announced its planned executive management team pending its announced acquisition of tw telecom. The new team will include executives from both Level 3 and tw telecom, establishing a strong foundation for the company moving forward – one that capitalizes on a solid customer orientation and focus on business growth.

Following the close of the acquisition, the Level 3 executive management team will include:

• Jeff Storey, president and chief executive officer
• John Blount, regional president, North America and Asia Pacific (APAC)
• Andrew Crouch, regional president, Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and global accounts management (GAM) division
• Hector Alonso, regional president, Latin America
• Anthony Christie, chief marketing officer
• Jack Waters, chief technology officer
• Harold Teets, chief information officer
• Sunit Patel, executive vice president and chief financial officer
• Laurinda Pang, executive vice president and chief administrative officer
• John Ryan, executive vice president, chief legal officer and secretary

"The expanded Level 3 executive management team includes a committed group of leaders with the collective expertise to build the combined company and continue to grow our business, particularly in the enterprise market," said Jeff Storey, president and CEO of Level 3. "I look forward to welcoming John and Harold from tw telecom – their combined experience and insights will be invaluable in capitalizing on our strengths and improving the customer experience. Similarly, as Andrew moves into a new role within Level 3, he will remain critical to our ongoing success and opportunities to continue satisfying our customers around the world."

The acquisition of tw telecom is expected to close in the fourth quarter 2014.

Executive Background

John Blount will become regional president, North America and APAC. John currently serves as the president and COO of tw telecom where he has been instrumental in the company's growth and market expansion throughout the United States. John has worked for tw telecom for 18 years and during his tenure has been recognized for his leadership in product innovation and creating an excellent customer experience. John will be key in continuing to drive business growth and streamline operations across both North America and APAC. He will also continue in his role as the integration team leader for tw telecom.

Andrew Crouch, currently the regional president, North America and APAC for Level 3, will become the regional president, EMEA and GAM division. Andrew has been successfully driving revenue growth in North America during the past two years. The EMEA region continues to present significant opportunity for Level 3 and under Andrew's leadership, the company will be well positioned to capitalize on this growth potential. Andrew will also have direct responsibility for the Level 3 GAM division, which includes sales and support across all regions for enterprise and carrier customers in the global accounts program. Andrew joined Level 3 in 2001, bringing deep company knowledge and industry experience to this role, which will be critical for Level 3 to achieve global business growth and increase cross-regional collaboration.

Harold Teets will become chief information officer. Harold currently serves as senior vice president of Information and Network Technologies for tw telecom. He will have responsibility for the global IT organization and its critical role in helping Level 3 to continue simplifying its operating environment and collaborating with marketing and network technology to innovate new capabilities to support customers' network and services needs. Harold also will focus on enabling Level 3 to achieve operational excellence and organizational efficiency with the goal to continually improve the overall customer experience. tw telecom is consistently recognized as an industry leader in these areas and Harold will bring this knowledge and more than 35 years of experience to Level 3.

Core North America Locations

Following the close of the acquisition, Level 3 plans to expand its core locations in North America to include tw telecom's current locations in Littleton, Colo., as well as its operations center in O'Fallon, Mo. In addition to its Broomfield headquarters, Level 3 currently has core locations in North America in Atlanta, Phoenix and Tulsa, Okla.

About Level 3 Communications

Level 3 Communications, Inc. (NYSE: LVLT) is a Fortune 500 company that provides local, national and global communications services to enterprise, government and carrier customers. Level 3's comprehensive portfolio of secure, managed solutions includes fiber and infrastructure solutions; IP-based voice and data communications; wide-area Ethernet services; video and content distribution; data center and cloud-based solutions. Level 3 serves customers in more than 500 markets in over 60 countries over a global services platform anchored by owned fiber networks on three continents and connected by extensive undersea facilities. For more information, please visit www.level3.com or get to know us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

© Level 3 Communications, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Level 3, Level 3 Communications, Level (3) and the Level 3 Logo are either registered service marks or service marks of Level 3 Communications, LLC and/or one of its Affiliates in the United States and/or other countries. Any other service names, product names, company names or logos included herein are the trademarks or service marks of their respective owners. Level 3 services are provided by subsidiaries of Level 3 Communications, Inc.

Forward-Looking Statement

Some statements made in this press release are forward-looking in nature and are based on management's current expectations or beliefs. These forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of performance and are subject to a number of uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside Level 3's control, which could cause actual events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the statements. Important factors that could prevent Level 3 from achieving its stated goals include, but are not limited to, the company's ability to: successfully integrate the Global Crossing acquisition or otherwise realize the anticipated benefits thereof; manage risks associated with continued uncertainty in the global economy; maintain and increase traffic on its network; develop and maintain effective business support systems; manage system and network failures or disruptions; avert the breach of its network and computer system security measures; develop new services that meet customer demands and generate acceptable margins; defend intellectual property and proprietary rights; manage the future expansion or adaptation of its network to remain competitive; manage continued or accelerated decreases in market pricing for communications services; obtain capacity for its network from other providers and interconnect its network with other networks on favorable terms; attract and retain qualified management and other personnel; successfully integrate future acquisitions; effectively manage political, legal, regulatory, foreign currency and other risks it is exposed to due to its substantial international operations; mitigate its exposure to contingent liabilities; and meet all of the terms and conditions of its debt obligations. Additional information concerning these and other important factors can be found within Level 3's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Statements in this press release should be evaluated in light of these important factors. Level 3 is under no obligation to, and expressly disclaims any such obligation to, update or alter its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

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